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Kayla Prasek

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BEMIDJI - The proposed relocation of Evergreen Youth and Family Services has received approval from the planning board. The Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board during its meeting Wednesday night unanimously approved an interim use permit that would allow office space in a multiple-family zone for Evergreen. Evergreen plans to relocate its offices and drop-in center to new construction at 610 Patriot Ave. Northwest. Those services are currently located at the intersection of 15th Street and Bemidji Avenue in the Bridgeman Center.

BEMIDJI - Cleanup at Nymore Park started Tuesday, but the turnout wasn't what the city expected. The city set up a work day from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday, hoping volunteers would help clean up Nymore and Otto Schmunk parks. No volunteers showed up. "It's a tough time of day," Tina Hanke, recreation leader, said.

BEMIDJI - Diamond Point Park will stay closed to the public while cleanup from the July 2 storm, a process that could take the entire week or longer. The park, one of the hardest hit spots in the city, lost almost half of its trees from the July 2 storm that brought 80 mph straight-line winds. According to a press release from Police Chief Mike Mastin, Birchmont Drive will be closed from 16th to 19th streets Northwest from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today while crews continue cleanup at the park. It closed at 9 a.m.

BEMIDJI - Working in science outreach is a dream come true for Susan Joy. Joy, 35, started as the Headwaters Science Center's new executive director June 18, after the center's founder/director Laddie Elwell retired. Joy came to Bemidji from Flagstaff, Ariz., where she was the community services manager for the Northern Arizona Council of Governments. "This job, this opportunity, is really why I'm here," Joy said. "My background is in science, and I've always loved science outreach.

BEMIDJI - Power company crews continued to work on restoring power to the Bemidji area Wednesday as another storm rolled through the northern part of the county, knocking out power to about 1,500 customers. Both Otter Tail Power Company and Beltrami Electric had crews out in full force on the Fourth of July holiday. As of early Wednesday evening, less than 200 residents in the Bemidji and Cass Lake areas were still without power, Cris Kling, Otter Tail's director of public relations, said.

BEMIDJI - Barbecues and fireworks weren't on the minds of some Bemidji residents Wednesday. Rather than celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, some homeowners were still working to clean up from Monday night's storm. Steve Carpenter said he mostly had downed trees but his roof also was missing shingles. "I started cleaning up the night it happened," Carpenter said.

BEMIDJI - The Beltrami County Sheriff's Department is reminding homeowners to document damages before starting the clean up process. Sheriff Phil Hodapp said the city and county are working to assess the damage but homeowners need to do the same for themselves. "We're asking the public that before they start the clean up process to document with photographs the damage at their homes for their insurance companies," Hodapp said.

A fast-moving thunderstorm tore through Bemidji shortly before 7 p.m. Monday, leaving a wide swath of debris, downed trees and much of the city without power. The storm produced 80 mph straight-line winds, Dave Kellenbenz, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, N.D., said. Beltrami County Sheriff Phil Hodapp said that while the department didn't immediately know the extent of the damage, he had crews out checking every street for downed power lines. "There was also some damage on the east side of the lake," Hodapp said.